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Backshift
|school=Transmutation |components=V, S, M |casting time=1 standard action |range=Short |target= |area= |effect= |duration= |saving throw=None |spell resistance=No }} This spell forces its target (who must be visible to the caster when casting begins) back into previous body shapes the target has assumed. If it is cast on a creature that has never changed its shape, the spell is wasted. Purely illusionary disguises, and minor changes to the nature of a targets body such as in growing and aging do not count as “changes in shape.” The backshift spell forces its target back into the last three body shapes it has assumed that weren’t the targets own. If the target has taken fewer than three shapes since birth, the spell displays all forms it has taken. The target creature appears into these shapes in reverse chronological order (that is, the most recently-taken form first) for one round each. If there are fewer than three shapes available, the spell cycles through them, never including the form the creature was using when first struck by the backshift. There is no saving throw against this initial part of the backshift, and this spell can force creatures into shapes not adapted for survival in the current surroundings (such as aquatic forms, on dry land). Target activities, such as spellcasting and weapon use, may be hampered or aided by the forms taken (dropping weapons is common), but the backshift spell itself doesn’t prohibit them. At the end of the third round, the victim of a backshift is allowed a saving throw vs. spell. If the save succeeds, the spell ends, and the creature is instantly returned to the form it had at first contact with the spell. If the save fails, the caster of the spell can freely choose any one of the four forms (the initial one and the three forced “returns”) as the target creature’s new form. As the magic expires, it puts the target creature into the chosen form. This change is permanent unless altered by later magics, though the chosen form isn’t the creature’s “true” form, a simple dispel magic causes the creature to revert to its true form. Once a backshift has been cast, its caster is free to undertake other activities during later rounds (while its victim is undergoing the spell effects). The death of the caster frees the target from the backshift immediately, but movement out of spell range does not. The material components of a backshift are a strand of spiderweb, a whole, raw egg and a fragment of shell from an egg that has hatched. Both the whole egg and the shell fragment may come from any egg-laying creature, and they need not both be from the same individual or even species. This spell was originally developed to unmask individuals who employed shape-changing magics to conceal their identities when they openly carried out crimes. For safety reasons, a backshift spell is usually memorized by at least one senior participant prior to any “twenty transformations” game. Category:Transmutation spells Category:8th level sorcerer and wizard spells